Aioli Recipes

In this issue of Party Yak:

Learn the Professional Secret to Making Your Own Aioli Recipes and Other Sauces

Aioli
(eye-oh-lee) is a wonderful garlic mayonnaise sauce that hails, it is said,
from the Provence region of France and is as natural on the dining table there
as butter or salt and pepper. It is a culinary delight paired with crab cakes,
shrimp, scallops, crudités, roasted
asparagus, and artichoke leaves. The French don't stop there, but eat it
with all manner of fish, eggs, pasta, meat, potatoes, bread, and chicken salad,
as well. Can't fault them. Aioli certainly gives new meaning to "mayo clinic."

The Basic Aioli Recipes

All true aioli starts with egg and olive oil as a base, which is
essentially mayonnaise, so you can use readymade mayonnaise as well. (I
think I hear the French gasping.)

Fresh minced garlic, fresh-squeezed lemon juice, salt and pepper
are the other basics. But most often, other seasonings are added, such
as cumin, thyme, rosemary, coriander, curry, and Dijon mustard, as well
as a hot ingredient like cayenne or horseradish, and that's where you
can really get creative.

Once you know how to create your own aioli you will never need a
recipe again, but here are the basic recipes anyway to get you started:

Egg and Olive Oil Aioli

This makes about 1 1/2 cups of aioli; that's a lot of
expensive olive oil. Consider cutting the recipe in half until you have
the hang of making aioli from scratch.

In a small bowl, combine all ingredients and other seasonings of choice. Cover and chill well.

Note: You can serve your aioli after chilling it for about
30 minutes, but it's better if you allow several hours for the flavors
to meld and mellow. Any mayonnaise product should be kept refrigerated
and served chilled.

Create Your Own Aioli Recipes with this Professional Trick

Here's an easy, professional trick to creating aioli recipes, and
most any other type of sauce, that boast a perfect blend of ingredients.

Let's say you decide that you want to create an aioli sauce with
horseradish and sage in a mayonnaise base. Your ingredients are:

After your base, mayonnaise, start with the most "violent"
flavor, horseradish. Add a little at a time to the mayonnaise until it
is flavorful, but not overpowering. Do the same with each of the
remaining ingredients, ending with the delicate sage. The sage should
balance the overall flavor of the aioli.______________________

Soon, you'll find, just thinking about aioli recipes will make you start the water boiling for artichokes.